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Biomedical subjects

G D Chermak

Publications and source records attributed to G D Chermak.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Central auditory processes and test measures: ASHA 1996 revisited.

The theoretical issues surrounding central auditory processing disorders (CAPD) are reviewed here, especially with reference to the central auditory behavioral processes and the auditory test measures as prescribed in the ASHA (1996, American Journal of Audiology, 5(2), 41-54) statement on CAPD. A simplified nomenclature is recommended that directly relates process and test measure to facilitate the diagnostic process in CAPD. This new terminology closely follows the ASHA (1996, American Journal of Audiology, 5(2), 41-54) document, but provides some refinement based on recent research in CAPD. To support this recommendation, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied to the findings of Domitz and Schow (2000, American Journal of Audiology), who proposed use of a battery of CAPD tests, the Multiple Auditory Processing Assessment (MAPA) for testing school children. The CFA was found to reinforce the four-factor model, which clearly emerged in the exploratory factor analysis of Domitz and Schow. The model was found to be reasonably consistent even when subtests from the SCAN were included in the analysis. Refinement and revision of ASHA (1996, American Journal of Audiology, 5(2), 41-54) is recommended to facilitate diagnosis, subclassification, and intervention for CAPD.

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association↗

Differential diagnosis and management of central auditory processing disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently present difficulties performing tasks that challenge the central auditory nervous system. The relationship between ADHD and central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) is examined from the perspectives of cognitive neuroscience, audiology, and neuropsychology. The accumulating evidence provides a basis for the overlapping clinical profiles yet differentiates CAPD and ADHD as clinically distinct entities. Common and distinctive management strategies are outlined.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗

Behavioral signs of central auditory processing disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) present overlapping symptomatology. Attention and listening problems, maladaptive behavior, distractibility, instruction-following difficulty, and increased time required to complete tasks appear on checklists purportedly characterizing behaviors exhibited by individuals with CAPD and ADHD. The present study compared audiologists' and pediatricians' rankings of 41 behavioral symptoms associated with ADHD and CAPD. Audiologists ranked the degree to which each item pertained to individuals with CAPD and pediatricians ranked the same items as related to ADHD. Item analysis revealed that only two of the most frequently cited behaviors were judged as characteristic of both disorders (i.e., inattention and distractibility). The majority of frequently cited behaviors were not seen as common to ADHD and CAPD.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗

Professional education and assessment practices in central auditory processing.

A 17-item questionnaire probing professional preparation and current practices in central auditory assessment was mailed to 500 audiologists selected randomly from the membership directory of the American Academy of Audiology. Data from 183 respondents, representing a 37 percent response rate, were analyzed. The majority of respondents reported minimal academic and clinical preparation in assessment of the central auditory nervous system. Eighty percent of respondents had not taken any graduate course explicitly dedicated to central auditory processing. However, 80 percent had taken at least one basic science course in central audition and 83 percent reported having taken at least one graduate course that included some coverage of central auditory processing and/or the central auditory nervous system. A mean of 3 clinical clock hours accrued in this area was reported. Not surprisingly, 78 percent reported a satisfaction rating of < or =50 percent relative to the graduate education they received in this area and only 41 percent reported providing central auditory assessment. Comparisons with prior surveys show substantial change in the preferred test battery. Most notable is the pivotal role of physiologic measures, with the acoustic reflex and auditory brainstem response listed along with the SCAN as the three most frequently used assessment tests/procedures. Overall, the results suggest a need for improvement in professional preparation in evaluation of central auditory function.

Audiology↗

Form equivalence of the Selective Auditory Attention Test administered to 6-year-old children.

The form equivalence of the Selective Auditory Attention Test (SAAT) was examined. Forty normal-hearing 6-year-old boys and girls were assigned randomly in equal numbers to one of two groups. Each group listened to four lists of words at 70 dB SPL sound field in one of two orders. Equal mean difficulty and significant correlations between lists in quiet and between lists presented with competing speech substantiate the form equivalence of the SAAT. Form equivalence analyzed for individual subjects confirmed conclusions derived from analysis of group data. A learning effect seen as improved mean performance for the second of the two lists presented in competing speech resulted from the repeated measures experimental design of the study and does not undermine the clinical viability of the SAAT.

Attention↗

Performance of American Indian children with fetal alcohol syndrome on the test of language development.

Alcohol is a teratogen known to have deleterious effects on the developing embryo and fetus. Language deficits secondary to central nervous system dysfunction are among the sequelae of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Limited information is available regarding the language deficits associated with FAS, particularly among the population of American Indians in whom FAS is highly prevalent. The TOLD-P and TOLD-I were administered to 27 American Indian children: 10 with FAS and 17 normally developing control subjects. Pure-tone screening, immittance measurement, and vision screening preceded language testing. The older FAS children presented syntactic deficits while the younger FAS subjects presented more global language deficits.

Child↗

Word identification performance in the presence of competing speech and noise in learning disabled adults.

Eight learning disabled (LD) adults and eight control subjects identified monosyllabic words presented simultaneously in the presence of speech spectrum noise and three types of linguistic maskers. The performance of LD subjects was poorer than that of the control subjects under each masking condition. Word identification was poorest in the presence of speech noise for both groups. No difference in performance was seen as a function of the linguistic content of the competing speech maskers. These results suggest that LD subjects present greater susceptibility to acoustic masking relative to control subjects and may support the view that auditory-language deficits observed in LD individuals may be secondary to an underlying acoustic-phonetic disorder rather than a central phonologic disorder. LD college students may experience S/N ratios in the classroom that perpetuate or exacerbate their listening problems.

Adolescent↗

Association between paired subtests of auditory sequential memory administered to preschool children.

Auditory sequential memory subtests of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence and the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities were administered individually to 20 normal preschool children. Poor performance on the McCarthy words/sentences subtest suggests retention difficulties associated with isolated words in the absence of linguistic context. Correlations of only moderate strength and large unexplained variance indicate poor predictability between subtests despite similarities in content and procedural details.

Child, Preschool↗

Interlist equivalence of the word intelligibility by picture identification test administered in broad-band noise.

The effect of broad-band noise on the interlist equivalence of the Word Intelligibility by Picture Identification Test (WIPI) was examined. Subjects were 24 normally hearing children aged 6:7-9:1 years (years:months) who were assigned in equal numbers to one of three signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) conditions (S/N = 0, +2, +4dBSPL). Each child was administered all four lists of the WIPI under one of these noise conditions. No significant order, gender or ear effects were observed. Performance increased linearly with increasing S/N. Statistically significant mean differences were seen between lists, and individual interlist pairwise comparisons revealed differences exceeding chance occurrence. Pooled correlations of interlist equivalence were of moderate strength. Caveats regarding clinical application of the WIPI administered in noise are discussed.

Child↗

Shortcomings of a revised feasibility scale for predicting hearing aid use with older adults.

Test-retest reliability and criterion validity of an extensively revised version of the feasibility scale for predicting hearing aid use (FSPHAU) was examined. Twenty-two older adults presenting with symmetrical mild to moderate sensory hearing loss completed the revised FSPHAU (pencil and paper) on two occasions prior to hearing aid fitting. The hearing handicap inventory for the elderly was administered during the fitting session and again six months following aid fitting. Test-retest reliability of the revised FSPHAU is not adequate, as revealed by a significant change in the distribution of scores between administrations. From a clinical standpoint, however, true change in an individual's scores was seen in only 4 subjects. In the absence of reliability, discussion of validity becomes moot. The revised FSPHAU cannot supplant trial use of amplification, as client success was not predicted based upon responses offered prior to aid use.

Adult↗

Effects of intake and rejection tasks on auditory fatigue.

The effects of sensory intake and rejection tasks on auditory fatigue were examined in 14 male subjects. Auditory thresholds, psychophysical tuning curves and physiological measures of cardiovascular function were obtained before, during, and following a 7 min 110 dB SPL white noise exposure. Acceleration of heart rate was observed under the sensory rejection (mental arithmetic) condition, and poorer post-exposure auditory thresholds and larger Q10 tip values (measured during late post-exposure intervals) were seen when the task required counting of interruptions in the noise. However, Q10 tip values obtained 1 to 2 min post-exposure, when cochlear effects are maximal, failed to confirm a significant difference as a function of task.

Adult↗

Recovery of psychophysical tuning curves following noise exposure.

Psychophysical tuning curves (PTCs) at 2 kHz and auditory thresholds (2 kHz and 4 kHz) were obtained from 18 normal-hearing listeners before and after exposure to a 5-min 110 dB SPL white noise. PTCs were quantified on five dimensions (Q10 tip, Q10 probe, d1oct, tip level and tip frequency). PTCs revealed continued cochlear effects beyond the time when TTS at 2 kHz demonstrated complete recovery.

Adult↗

Characteristics of temporary noise-induced tinnitus in male and female subjects.

Reversible tinnitus was induced in 10 male and 8 female normal-hearing subjects following a 5 min 110 dB SPL exposure to white noise. Temporary threshold shift (TTS) was measured at 2 and 4 kHz. Characteristics of the tinnitus were determined by means of a written questionnaire administered 5 min following termination of the noise. Most of the subjects experienced a continuous tonal tinnitus of moderate loudness. Characterization of the tinnitus regarding spectral quality, type of sound, and perceived location differed as a function of gender. No difference in TTS measured at 2 and 4 kHz was seen as a function of gender. Positive relationships of fair to moderate strength were revealed between pre-exposure thresholds, TTS, and tinnitus pitch and level.

Auditory Threshold↗

Equivalent forms and split-half reliability of the NU-CHIPS administered in noise.

The effects of white noise on the equivalent forms reliability and internal consistency reliability of the Northwestern University-Children's Perception of Speech Test (NU-CHIPS) were examined. Subjects were 36 normally hearing 10-year-old children who were assigned randomly in equal numbers to one of three experimental groups. Each group was administered all four forms of the NU-CHIPS at one of three signal-to-noise ratios (S/N = -4, S/N = 0, S/N = +2). The reliability of the NU-CHIPS when presented in noise is diminished relative to its reported reliability when administered in quiet as revealed by Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients.

Child↗

Threshold of octave masking as a predictor of temporary threshold shift following repeated noise exposure.

Cumulative auditory effects of repeated exposure to a 3-min 110 dB SPL white noise were examined in 20 subjects (10 male, 10 female). Statistical analysis revealed greater 8-kHz temporary threshold shift in female ears despite equivalent preexposure 8-kHz thresholds across gender. Cumulative effects were seen in thresholds of octave masking scores, especially in female subjects, possibly reflecting increased susceptibility following the second noise exposure.

Acoustics↗